U.N. Votes to Ban Nuclear Weapons in 2017

On October 27, 2016, the United Nations Committee For Nuclear Disarmament voted in favor of a resolution to begin negotiations on a treaty in 2017 which will aim to outlaw destructive(fission) nuclear weapons.

123 voted in favor of the resolution, which was created by Austria, Brazil, South Africa, Ireland, Mexico and Nigeria, while 38 voted against and 16 abstained from voting either way.

Not surprisingly, four of the five big UN Security Council nuclear powers voted against the resolution, which included France, U.S. Britain and Russia.

Interestingly, Japan voted against the resolution, even though nuclear fission bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki many years ago.

In a very surprising move, North Korea voted in favor of the disarmament resolution and said they will bring in a, “legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination.”

Kate Hudson, who is the Chair for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said:

“It’s very encouraging to see so many countries say loud and clear it’s time for the world to move on from nuclear weapons. We have united before to ban biological and chemical weapons, landmines and cluster bombs, and now the international community is taking decisive steps to ban nuclear weapons.”

In addition to the U.N. vote, the European Parliament adopted it’s own resolution which was supported by 415 votes, opposed by 124 and 74 chose not to vote.

This is another positive step forward as the European nations can help to add great weight to a resolution to finally disarm the world of destructive nuclear weapons.

The resolution will be put forth to the UN General Assembly in December and is now likely to pass, which will then pave the way for further negotiations to take place in March, June and July of 2017.

Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, described the vote as a “historic moment” in the decades-long drive for a nuclear-free world.

“This treaty won’t eliminate nuclear weapons overnight. But it will establish a powerful, new international legal standard, stigmatizing nuclear weapons and compelling nations to take urgent action on disarmament.”

Fission vs. Fusion

It must be remembered though that there are differences when someone says or writes “nuclear energy.” Nuclear fission is the destructive kind.

It’s the kind that was used for the atomic bombs in Japan. Nuclean fusion is harmless, clean and can produce what is known as “free energy.”